Competitor Watch

Last month, parcel delivery company DPD announced it had taken delivery of the first ten EAV P1 electric-assist cargo bikes, the result of a partnership with Oxford-based manufacturer EAV.

Five of the unique bio-mechanical hybrid electric-assisted pedal bikes are currently being tested on the streets of London, York and Newbury, while the other five are being shipped to DPD business units in Ireland, Spain, Germany, Portugal and France to help support British manufacturing and exporting abroad.

‘We wanted to deploy an electrically-assisted cargo bike,” DPD’s general manager – CSR, Rob Fowler said. ‘I think we’ve looked at the range of models available, not just in the UK but across Europe, and we couldn’t find something that we considered safe enough for both the driver, from a stability point of view, and secure enough for our parcels.

‘We wanted to ensure that the driver was protected against inclement weather as well. If you have to ride in one of these for a long time in winter, you want to make sure that the driver has a degree of comfort.’DPD, which launched the UK’s first all-electric parcel depot in Westminster in October, has worked with EAV from the outset as a technical partner. The e-cargo bike was announced at the eBike Summit in April this year.

The purpose-built, quadricycle measures 2m long by 1m wide, weighs 75kg and can carry a 120kg payload. The 250-watt motor helps the rider accelerate to a maximum of 15mph. The P1 can cover a range of up to 60 miles in a day and over 100 parcel stops and then be recharged using a normal 13amp, 240v plug socket.

Royal Mail’s own zero-emission e-Trikes for letter and parcel deliveries are an example of our efforts to continue to reduce CO2 emissions.

Predominantly powered by a combination of pedal, solar, battery and brake technology, our e-Trikes, which we are continuing to trial, are specially designed to help postmen and women deliver letters and parcels in a secure and environmentally-friendly way.